Women in focus

3/8/2018 – Last Sunday in Moscow the contest "blondes against brunettes" was held for the eighth time. Alexandra Kosteniuk led the "brunettes" to a clear victory. In India, IM Tania Sachdev launches a "Powerless Queen" project, and in Belgrade, there's a 50th International Women's tournament ongoing | Pictured: Elmira Mirzoeva | Photo: Russian Chess Federation

The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.

International Women's Day 2018

March 8th is Women's Day, celebrated throughout the world. In Belgrade it even has its own tournament, this year celebrating its 50th edition, which runs through March 13th.

The first Women's International Tournament was organised between March 8th and 24th, 1965. Since then it has become an annual tradition in the Serbian capital, with the exception of 1980 (cancelled due to lack of funding) and 1984 (when only local players participated so it wasn't "international").

Twelve players from Serbia, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, France and Bosnia and Hercegovina are participating this year. After five rounds, Jovana Rapport (wife of Richard) is in clear first with 5.0 / 6.

The women of the 50th International Tournament | Photo: Courtesy the city of Belgrade

The live games transmission has been spotty, but when games are broadcast we'll have them on live.chessbase.com.

Blonds vs brunettes

In anticipation of Women's Day in Moscow, the "most beautiful chess tournament in the city" was played last Sunday, and "Blondes vs. Brunettes", as it's known, has also become a traditional competition, albeit one with a bit more flair. Organiser WGM Maria Forminykh instigated the event for the eighth time, which was played in the famous Central Chess Club on Gogolevsky Boulevard.

The two teams played a match using the Scheveningen system. Each blond played a blitz game against each brunette at a rate of 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. All players were decked out in with dresses by designer Olga Grinyuk.

At the end of the day, the brunettes left with the edge, the final score, 37 : 27. Alexandra Kosteniuk was the best performer with 7 out of 8. Anna Ushenina was close behind, with 6½ out of 8.

Learn to master the right exchange! Let the German WGM Elisabeth Pähtz show you how to gain a strategic winning position by exchanging pieces of equal value or to safely convert material advantage into a win.

The challenge itself is simply a 30-second chess game against the computer, but with a twist, you'll quickly discover if you give it a go. It's a bit of a gimmick, but one which makes a profound point about fairness.

Macauley PetersonMacauley is Editor in Chief of ChessBase News in Hamburg, Germany, and producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast. He was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

See also

2/1/2018 – There's a lot more going on every year in Gibraltar aside from the main Masters tournament. From player interviews, to master classes, to the always entertaining "Battle of the Sexes" here's some of what's been happening. | Photo: Sophie Triay

See also

11/3/2017 – The European Women's Team Championship tournament has familiar names at the top: Russia leads, but Georgia, Ukraine, Poland and Turkey are all close behind. Spanish board one Sabrina Vega was all smiles at the start of Round 5, and in fact held her opponent Alexandra Kosteniuk to a draw, but Russia took the match 3 : 1 to become the only team in either tournament with a perfect match record at the half. | Photo: www.euroteams2017.com

Video

The Grünfeld Defence is a very dynamic opening with an excellent reputation and the list of players ready to defend it reads like a who's who in chess. It is rather remarkable, that one variation still retains the position of main line and that after hundreds of games played with it some questions still remain open. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 promises White a very compact and solid pawn centre well supported by the pieces. Black is unable to destroy this main asset of the opponent, but can certainly try to undermine it with clever play.

Call me a sexist if you wish, but I've been delighted to discover Ms. Mirzoeva and Ms. Nechaeva ^^

melante 3/10/2018 01:49

@fons3: for men it should probably be more like "hairy vs. bald" (and I would surely not be ashamed to play in the latter group!) but I doubt such an event would grab any sort of media attention... :P

lute 3/9/2018 08:55

Kudos to organizer Maria Forminykh for her efforts in continuing this traditional chess competition. Embrace what makes this chess event unique. Please ignore the hateful criticism from the overly sensitive crybabies. The silent majority of us respect what you are doing and are fully supportive of your efforts.

fons3 3/9/2018 08:31

Why are there no men's tournaments blonds against brunets?

Nah just kidding, I agree that this is a bit tacky, but hey, if the women like it...

genem 3/9/2018 05:33

Former World Champ Alexandra Kosteniuk continues to have a long effect career. While watching the video of her Blitz game, I am struck by the need for better chess pieces. Just looking at the board, it is often impossible to identify the type of piece on a square relatively far from the video camera. This is especially true for the so-called "black" pieces when they are quite dark in color (like a dark brown). Tournament after tournament perpetuates this flaw. That the chess piece type could be made much more perceivable is not in doubt, but neither do Tournament Organizers ever do anything about it. Yet the T.O.'s always talk about wanting more media coverage and public interest. The talk is not being matched by action.

sotoli321 3/9/2018 12:06

Nice an fun. You can see good games and beautiful women.

michaelriber 3/9/2018 09:15

"Blondes vs. brunettes"? Seriously? And who plays chess for hours on end dressed in a short skirt and high heels? Surely that is not for the benefit of the players.

Is that really where we're at in 2018? I know it's Russia, but still..